Reducing Defensiveness

One of the best communication skills for couples that I have come across is a way to reduce defensiveness in our relationship. This is difficult to do, but greatly increases the closeness and understanding with your significant other. When communicating about heated topics, searching for and acknowledging areas of agreement can be very powerful in helping both parties feel understood and to reduce the chances of stalemate. For example, if you are disagreeing over discipline for your teen, acknowledging that you both love the child and are trying to do what is best can greatly reduce the defensiveness and eventually lead to solutions you both feel comfortable with.

So often in our arguments with our significant other, we don’t necessarily want to “win”, we want to feel understood, and when we feel understood, we are much more willing to look for areas of compromise. When both parties do not feel understood or listened too, it’s almost always going to continue to be a “perpetual argument”. Perpetual arguments wear down a relationship over time. Most relationships have some perpetual arguments, but it’s how we handle those arguments that are the most important. Remember the health of the relationship needs to be more important than being “right”, because being “right” will eventually lead us to loneliness, whether we are still in the relationship or not. Looking for areas of agreement will lead to a closer stronger relationship!

OAK CREEK

West Bend, Cedarburg and Oak Creek area counseling. Counseling for couples, families, children and individuals. Kettle Moraine Counseling is a mental health clinic, with 3 locations: West Bend, Cedarburg and Oak Creek, Wisconsin. We are an experienced, ethical and skilled group of therapists who love our work! We offer individual, couples and family therapy with day, evening and Saturday hours.
Areas served: Jackson, Slinger, West Bend, Cedarburg, Grafton, Germantown, Kewaskum, Hartford, Horicon, Menomonee Falls, Oak Creek, South Milwaukee, St. Francis and Cudahy.

IN WEST BEND, WE ARE LOCATED IN BARTON, JUST BEFORE THE RIVER, ON THE LEFT.